Some computing devices (e.g., mobile phones, tablet computers, etc.) may provide a graphical keyboard as part of a graphical user interface for composing text (e.g., using a presence-sensitive input device and/or display, such as a touchscreen). The graphical keyboard may enable a user of the computing device to enter text (e.g., an e-mail, a text message, or a document, etc.). For instance, a display device of a computing device may output a graphical (or “soft”) keyboard that enables the user to enter data by indicating (e.g., by tapping) keys displayed at a presence-sensitive input device.
Some computing devices may determine one or more candidate character strings (e.g., candidate words included in a lexicon, such as a dictionary) based on data entered using the graphical keyboard. In some examples, a computing device may output a set of the candidate character strings for display at a plurality of text suggestion regions that enable the user to select (e.g., auto-complete) a character string by indicating (e.g., tapping or gesturing over) a text suggestion region of a display that displays a desired character string. In certain examples, each of the text suggestion regions may be associated with a rank, each rank corresponding to a relative probability of a candidate character string displayed within the text suggestion region. According to certain techniques, the computing device may output candidate character strings for display within the text suggestion regions based on a correspondence between a probability that the candidate character string represents a word included in the lexicon and the rank of a respective text suggestion region. For instance, the computing device may output a highest-probability candidate character string for display within a highest-ranked text suggestion region of the display, a second-highest probability candidate character string for display within a second-highest ranked text suggestion region, etc.
However, such techniques may have certain drawbacks. For example the text suggestion region within which a particular candidate character string is displayed may change due to, for example, different lexical contexts of the candidate character string (e.g., different preceding words). As such, a user may not be able to predict within which text suggestion region a particular candidate character string will be displayed in response to particular gesture input. Accordingly, such techniques may require a user to attend to (e.g., view) each of the plurality of text suggestion regions to determine within which text suggestion region a desired candidate character string is displayed, thereby reducing the speed at which the user is able to interact with the computing device to enter text.